Generation Rent has delivered a petition signed by nearly 57,000 people to No. 10 Downing Street that calls for a cap on rent rises.

The petition was delivered by Durham single mum Bridget Chapman with the backing of the tenant lobbying group.

She gained widespread media coverage after her landlord increased her rent by 20% or £100 a month with just a few days’ notice.

“As a single parent living with my two children, with one income to live on, the impact will ripple through my life,” she says.

“I feel broken down by this system. Extreme damp in my previous home led to me being rushed to hospital with pneumonia.

“I hoped this new home would be better, but once again, I’ve suffered a huge blow to my security.

High rents

“Rents in my local area are high, and I cannot simply jump to another more affordable option – I was already struggling to cover my essentials; this shock rent rise will put even more of a strain on me.”

Generation Rent has been lobbying hard to persuade the Government to bring in rent control within England and Wales even though ministers have previously strongly rejected the idea.

Nevertheless, the Renters’ Rights Bill includes measures to limit rent rises. This includes that rent increases will be limited to once a year; cannot be more than the market rate – i.e. the price that would be achieved if the property was newly advertised to let; and must be completed using a ‘section 13’ noticee setting out the new rent and giving at least two months’ warning of the rise.

“The most common reason that renters reported they had been given for their rent increases, was not because their landlord faced increased costs, or was struggling more, it was simply because of the rising rewards of ‘the market’,” a Generation Rent spokesperson says.